The present invention relates to a wet suit style personal flotation device which is especially useful for those enthusiasts participating in water sports such as water skiing, sail boarding, knee boarding, jet skiing, barefooting, and boating.
There are many different types of personal flotation devices currently in use by water sport enthusiasts. In particular, a personal flotation device such as a Coast Guard Type III life vest is popular. These life vests are designed for use in calm inland waters where there is a good chance of fast rescue. As such, the performance along with the comfort and wearability of the personal flotation device is important.
In order to be an effective Type III U.S. Coast Guard approved personal flotation device the device must be able to keep a conscious person face up in the water with his mouth at least two inches above water, on average such that the person's respiration is not impeded. Thus, the wearer must be held in an upright or slightly backward position. According to Coast Guard regulations, the wearers must be held at a minimum of 7.degree. back from vertical up to 80.degree. back from vertical. Once a wearer has assumed an upright or vertical or tilted slightly backward position in the water, the personal flotation device must allow the wearer to at least maintain that position. The personal flotation device must show no tendancy to tip the wearer face down in the water.
In addition, the wearability of the personal flotation device is affected by the buoyancy of the personal flotation device. Typically, the buoyant material of the personal flotation device is distributed along the front and back of the wearer for ease of wear and movement. However, the maximum buoyancy of the device which can be achieved is often reduced by the manufacturer in order to achieve a lighter weight and less bulky personal flotation device.
The physique of the wearer greatly affects the personal flotation device's performance. Often the personal flotation devices are manufactured so as to fit a range of sizes of wearers. As such, there may be a sloppy or loose fit of the buoyant device on the wearer. The personal flotation device tends to ride up on the body of the wearer. As the flotation device rises on the body of the wearer, the wearer sinks, a factor which greatly effects the breathing margin when the wearer's mouth must be at least 2 inches above water, on the average.
Further, a wearer's physique determines how that wearer will float, due to the fact that muscle and bone are heavier than water while fatty tissue is lighter, and as such, heavy-boned and muscular people tend to sink in the water while lighter-boned and overweight people tend to float. Also the distribution of fat and muscle determines whether the wearer tends to float vertically or horizontally. It is therefore important than the personal flotation device performs adequately by tilting the wearer backwards slightly from vertical. However, some of the personal flotation devices currently in use may not hold the face of an unconscious wearer out of the water, and in rough seas a wearer's face may be covered by the waves. The personal flotation devices which do tilt the person backwards almost to a horizontal position to allow the wearer to breathe and keep afloat even if the wearer becomes exhausted and helpless. However, most wearers of personal flotation devices participating in water sports will not likely be conscious and reasonably mobile after falling into the water. In addition, most wearers may wish to remain vertical in order to look around easily and wave for help.
Another factor in considering the performance of personal flotation devices is the fact that hypothermia, the loss of body heat is a major cause in boating injuries and deaths in cold water. In fact, one of the leading causes of death while wearing a U.S. Coast Guard approved Type III personal flotation device is hypothermia. After an hour in 50.degree. F. water, most people would lose consciousness. Therefore, most water sport enthusiasts, when participating in sports in relatively cold water and not adequately protected by wearing the currently available life vest or jacket. Therefore, it is necessary for such enthusiasts to seek added protection by wearing a wet suit under the life vest or jacket.
Various types of wet suits are available for use in on-the-water and underwater sports. Wet suits are typically rubber-like protective clothing constructed to provide warmth and protection. A wet suit traps a thin layer of water between the wet suit and the wearer's body creating a thermal layer of warmth not provided to the wearer of only a vest or jacket type personal flotation device. Wet suits are often made using the rubber-like material neoprene. The neoprene material has elastomeric properties thus allowing the wet suit to stretch and provide the wearer with a snug fit. The snug fit not only provides the wearer with ease of movement in and on the water, but also effectively retains body heat within the wet suit. One drawback to the use of wet suits, however, is that despite the flexibility of the suit, the donning and removing of the wet suit is generally a somewhat time consuming and cumbersome ordeal.
Still, these wet suits are often used by water skiing enthusiasts to protect the water sport enthusiast from dangers associated with high speed impacts upon falls in the water and to prevent loss of essential body heat when in cold waters. Such water sport enthusiasts thus also wear a protective life vest or jacket over the wet suit. However, there are various drawbacks associated with this type of usage since the vests or jackets must be laced, strapped, or zipped onto the wearer in order to provide a snug fit over the wet suit and to keep the vest or jacket from riding up on the shoulders of the wearer. Further, when participating in high speed water sports, the life vest or jacket can be torn from the wearer's body when the wearer hits the water at a high speed. In order to lessen the impact of hitting the water at a high speeds of, for example, 50 miles per hour, various wet suit manufacturers have added cushioning or padding material to the wet suits. Such padding material, when useful in protecting the wearer from impact-type injuries, does not provide the wearer with adequate personal flotation safety. Rather, these padded suits are designed primarily for protection to a wearer for water skiing competitions such as jumping and barefooting. As such, the primary concern of the padded suit manufacturers is providing a suit having a desired flexibility which also provides impact-injury protection and warmth. The padded suits are not intended to keep a person afloat and such suits fail to meet the U.S. Coast Guard requirements for personal flotation devices. In fact, many padded suit manufacturers print in bold letters on the inside of the padded wet suit that the padded suit is not a substitute for a personal flotation device.
Furthermore, it is still a cumbersome practice to wear a life vest or jacket over a wet suit, especially when the wearer performing difficult or risky water sport stunts such as jumping and free-style water skiing.
Thus, there is need for a wet suit style personal flotation device without the above-mentioned drawbacks which personal flotation device offers satisfactory performance as a flotation aid along with comfort and wearability to the wearer. The wet suit style personal flotation device of the present invention is directed to meet these needs, as will be readily understood by referring to the specification, drawings and claims disclosed herein.